Alice Lascelles on drinks

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Drinks menus with a plethora of choices are not necessarily a good thing, so good luck to Edinburgh’s Lucky Liquor Co

When it comes to ordering in a restaurant, I’m the kind of person who asks
everyone else what they’re having, changes my mind several times as the
waiter goes round the table, and then changes my mind again as I open my
mouth to order, so that my final choice is often a surprise, even to me. For
the same reason, I hate encyclopaedic cocktail menus — my perfect cocktail
menu would fit on one sheet of paper and contain no more than a dozen
drinks. That way, you know every recipe on the list comes with your host’s
heartfelt seal of approval (and you can choose without having to suspend the
conversation for 15 minutes). A gargantuan selection of spirits also arouses
my suspicion — it’s not just confusing for the customer, it’s also bad for
the stock (even whisky can lose its lustre if it languishes for long enough)
and bad for the staff, who are unlikely to be on top of everything on their
list. At the new Lucky Liquor Co in Edinburgh (brought to you by the team
behind the celebrated Bramble), they riff on a capsule collection of just 13
branded products — bliss. But can paring back go too far? White Lyan,
opening soon in Hoxton, London, promises to use mixological wizardry to
dispense with anything perishable, including ice and lemons. That sounds a
bit severe to me, but I reserve the right to change my mind.

Made from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley for a spicier, more complex
flavour and a creamy texture, this is a great example of Irish pot still
whiskey, an old-school style now having a revival. Read more at timeswhiskyclub.com/blog